Let me take you back to 1994. The year that one of hip hop's most celebrated albums dropped like a bomb on all of us who love this shit! Illmatic by Nas is one of those albums that is just damn near perfect in every sense. Lyrics & beats matched together so effortlessly it's ridiculous. At the time when this momentous piece of work was nearing release, I was co hosting the Friday Nite Flava with dj 279 on Choice FM. I remember that we had a sampler cd from Columbia records that Big L's "No Ends, No Skins" & "The World Is Yours" amongst some other joints. We played that track week after week ahead of the album coming out. I remember one week in particular 279 asked me to dial a number and ask for Nas himself and prep him for a phone interview. I was nervous as hell, but I called the number and spoke to this dude that kept saying "word, word" in his now legendary QB whisper! Man, I was talking to Nas - WOW!!!!Well, that was amazing enough for me at the time, until a few weeks later 279 tells me we have the man himself coming to the show. WHAT? Nas? Here? Yep! He asked me to speak to a couple of my rhyming friends and invite them to the show for a freestyle session with Mr Nasir Olu Bin Dara Jones! Oh shit...It's on!
All I can say is click the link and listen to what went down during that freestyle session nearly 17 years ago!
I was rhyming with Nas! Yeah, I still get excited when I think about it!
Extra Super Dope props to Stickz, Sniper G - The Assassin, and of course dj 279.
